Memories of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster are fresh in peoples' minds as Japan restarts its first nuclear reactor since the tragedy, which took place last March in the wake of a deadly earthquake/tsunami combination.

The reactor, owned by the Kansai Electric Power Co., removed safety rods from one of its reactors in Oi, located in western Japan. The reactor is on schedule to begin supplying power as early as Wednesday, although full generational power is expected to take another four days to reach.

Protesters have rallied around the power plant, citing the Fukushima disaster as a reason to discontinue nuclear energy, but the fear of power shortages has spurred the Japanese to begin rebooting their reactors. Kansai Electric Power Co. plans on starting another of its reactors as early as July 14th.

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